What I was told was that ECON will cycle the a/c compressor less, therefore using less energy and increasing your mpg. I would equate it to saver's switch that can be added by your electrical company for your home a/c unit (if you are familiar with that). So, ECON will not allow the car to reach your set temp as quickly and I assume in some cases would not be able to maintain a set temp if the difference with the outside were extreme.

FYI, I always have my G set on ECON mode for the performance gain not so much for the MPG gain.

 

The text that was posted earlier indicates that the ECON mode is not to be used when the temperature outside is higher than the desired temperature. Basically don’t use the econ mode in the summer.

 

Huh???

If the A/C is enabled, I always use ECON mode -- winter, summer, doesn't matter.

And where you wrote, "The air conditioner does not activate. When you need to heat only, use this mode." Well, that's just plain wrong. In fact, the A/C seems to ALWAYS turn on, unless you actually push the button to turn it off.

 

Wrong. Here is text copied exactly from the manual (the text you copied was under the heating section, not sure why you did that).

Economical operation (ECON)
Economical operation (ECON)
Economical operation reduces some load
to the engine to improve the fuel
economy. It allows higher humidity than
normal operation.
Pushing the AUTO/ECON button changes
operations as follows while the A/C
button indicator is on. AUTO , ECON , AUTO

Heating (A/C off)
The air conditioner does not activate.
When you need to heat only, use this
mode.
1. Push the AUTO button. (AUTO will be
displayed.)
2. Push the A/C button to turn off the air
conditioner. The A/C button indicator
will turn off.
3. Push the temperature set button to set
the desired temperature.

The temperature of the passenger
compartment will be maintained automatically.
Air flow distribution and fan
speed are also controlled automatically.

Do not set the temperature lower than
the outside air temperature. Otherwise
the system may not work properly.

Not recommended if windows fog up.

Taken from pdf page 168 at this location:
http://www.infiniti.com/m/pdf/manual...finiti-G35.pdf

 

Glad you and others found the information useful. Out of curiosity I played with mine today, too. When I left work it was really hot, so I checked all 3 temps before starting the car and driving away: outside 103, inside 126, and intake 102. All 3 of course were artificially high because the car was closed up and sitting in the sun all day.

I keep my system set to ECON mode with a target of 72F. I drove for about 17 minutes before I shut the car off and checked them again: outside 95, inside 98, and intake 51! The outside made sense since that's really about what it was outside. The 51 intake made sense since that sensor is right next to the A/C evaporator. The A/C system was obviously doing its job! That 51 value started rising very quickly once the car was off as the other heat in the engine bay soaked into the sensor.

The inside temp of 98 didn't initially seem right since it certainly didn't feel that hot in the car. It felt like it was probably in the high 70s. However, once I thought about the fact that the inside sensor is down low and out of the way of the A/C system exit vents, I have a car with a black interior which had been sitting in the sun all day, and the large thermal mass of the interior of the car (I'm an engineer, so I do talk this way sometimes - sorry! :-), I realized that this was probably a very accurate temperature where the sensor is located. The dash area surrounding the sensor had been baking in the sun all day, so 17 minutes of cool air blowing out the top vents was not going to make a quick change.

So if your inside sensor stays all the way up at 127 after a long time with the A/C on then I'd say it's broken, but if it just seems to come down very slowly then I'd say that's normal and just the way the system is designed. It would take a long time for the whole interior to reach thermal equilibrium after starting with a car that had been sitting in the sun at 127F for several hours. Your exposed skin may feel cool because the inside air has been made cool by the A/C system, but it'll take a while for the coolness to fully soak into the mass of all the interior pieces, and that includes the pieces in the immediate vicinity of the inside temp sensor.

Hope this made sense,
Jim
2005 6MT, garnet fire/graphite

 

It makes perfect sense. What doesn't make sense is why the sensor can't be located in a more relevant area, like the mirror or perhaps the steering column instead of contiguous with a large heat reservoir.

 

What I copied was from a previous post and this URL http://www.infinitihelp.com/Ownershi...y%20System.htm

However, even the text you posted said do not use the Econ mode if you set the temp lower than the outside air temp. From both sets of text it appears that the Econ mode is to be used only when heating the car. Do you disagree?

 

First of all, no where in the text I copied does it state any condition where you should not use ECON mode. I don't know what you are reading, but it isn't there. Second, the statement about not setting the temp lower than outside air temp is stated under the "Heating (A/C Off)" section. This is corroborated by the link you posted, where they do not state any condition ECON mode cannot be used and the statement about not setting temp lower than outside temp is once again under the "Heating" section.

You seem to be completely misreading things. I'm at a loss and am losing patience. I don't know how it can be anymore clearer. Please take more time understanding what you are reading.

 

This is the text from the link that was refered to earlier in this thread:

What is the difference between "Auto" mode and "Econo" mode

AUTOMATIC OPERATION
Cooling and/ or dehumidified heating (AUTO) This mode may be normally used all year round as the system automatically works to keep a constant temperature. Air flow distribution and fan speed are also controlled automatically.

1. Push the AUTO button on. (AUTO will be displayed.)
2. Turn the temperature set dial to the left or right to set the desired temperature.

* Adjust the temperature set dial to about 75° F (24° C) for normal operation.
* The temperature of the passenger compartment will be maintained automatically. Air flow distribution and fan speed are also controlled automatically.

Heating (ECON)
The air conditioner does not activate. When you need to heat only, use this mode.

1. Push the ECON (Economy) button on. (ECON will be displayed.)
2. Turn the temperature set dial to the left or right to set the desired temperature.

* The temperature of the passenger compartment will be maintained automatically. Air flow distribution and fan speed are also controlled automatically.
* Do not set the temperature lower than the outside air temperature. Otherwise the system may not work properly.
* Not recommended if windows fog up.
------------
now anyone feel free to correct me if I am wrong but does this not SAY that ECON is heating and AUTO is cooling? Now I am not commenting on where this came from or how current the info is but it very cleary uses the term AUTO only in the cooling section and the term ECON only in the heating section. I believe that constitutes paying attention to what we are reading. Granted you may be reading something else (I don't know) but we are paying attention to what we are reading.

 

It's 103 and sunny outside.

No wonder your fan runs full blast all the time.

 

The text from the manuals does not make sense.
Why would they name the mode as AUTO ECON if it is intended just for heating.
I have never heard about a control which is split into 2 parts. One for heating and other for cooling.

I got my car 2 weeks ago and i have always been using Auto ECON mode. It is about 92F average daily outside temperature and i set my AUTO ECON to 75F and it works like charm.

I believe AUTO ECON uses lot of Fan speed and is a lesser load on the compressor, wheras AUTO uses full power of compressor to cool the cabin.

The text in the manual is very confusing, why does it say don't set the temp less than the outside temp in ECON mode

How have you guys been using your Climate control in the summer?
Has the climate control changed from the previous year sedans?

(I don't know how to add a POLL to this post)
Can someone put up a poll for AUTO ECON and AUTO mode, so that we can all vote how we use it in summer when it is really hot outside?

 

You can't infer that AUTO ECON is for heating only based on the text. Don't forget that the manual specifically states this:

Economical operation (ECON)
Economical operation reduces some load
to the engine to improve the fuel
economy. It allows higher humidity than
normal operation.
Pushing the AUTO/ECON button changes
operations as follows while the A/C
button indicator is on. AUTO , ECON , AUTO

Which is exactly the way it should work.

That makes a lot of sense. I think you are probably right.

The text in the manual is NOT confusing, see above. If anything, the text from the infinitihelp link provided by mpgxsvcd is slightly confusing.

Just want to reiterate that it is spelled out quite clearly in the manual. Don't read out of context. You can't infer A/C operation based on what is stated under heating operation. I think the text I copied above that is specifically stating ECON operation will clear things up for all of you.

 

Yes the text that I got from someone elses earlier post was confusing. I still have one question though. Is there an ECON/Heat mode that is not automatic? How would you set it to that mode? Thanks for helping me see the light. It looks like I was not the only one that is confused though.

 

Heat/cooling go by the temperature, even if you have the a/c on, it still heats if you have the temp higher than ambient temp is at the time.

 

FWIW, I measured the output air from the center vents using a non-contact infrared thermometer.........39 DEGREES F !!!